The Mini-Lathe by Neil M. Wyatt $9.99 (Kindle Edition), $19.74 (Hardcover)

[thibaultron]

 

If you are thinking of buying one of the several flavors of Mini-Lathes (7X10 to 7X16), or already own one, this is a must have book!

 

I am not a professional machinist, nor would I claim to be a highly skilled one, just a hobbyist. I have, however, rebuilt two 12 inch Atlas lathes, and spent a fair share of time using them. I recently had to sell my last Atlas, and as part of the deal, picked up the new owners old Harbor Freight 7X10  mini-lathe.

 

When I started with my Atlas lathes I bought several good books on using and maintaining a “Full Size” lathe, including the Atlas and Southbend manuals, and used much of what I learned. This book is the equivalent for the mini-lathes.

 

This book is filled with chapters on the construction of various vintages of these lathes, discussions of how to adjust them for better precision, and work piece finish, and easy modifications to improve their range and usefulness. The book is also fair in pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of a mini-lathe.

 

The book explains how to use the lathe for those who have never used one, as well as several projects that you can use to improve the lathe and your skills at the same time.

 

I would recommend the book to those who have been using this type of lathe for a while, if only for the adjustment tips, examples of after-market accessories available, and the projects. Many of the adjustments are the same as for a larger lathe, but there are also many specific to these types.

 

 

[DelF]

Many thanks for the recommendation. I looked the book up on Amazon - they had several sample pages via their "Look Inside" facility and the first picture I saw was my little Chester lathe (a Sieg clone) which virtualy sold it for me!

 

I bought the kindle edition, which means I can have it readily available to refer to on my tablet whether I'm in the house or the workshop. I haven't read it all yet but what I've seen so far looks very useful.

 

Derek

[bruce d]

The author has good credentials: Neil Wyatt is editor of "Model Engineers' Workshop" magazine.

Edited January 17, 2020 by bruce d

[wefalck]

There is also the 'Mini-Lathe' Web-site that should answer allmost any question about these lathes. It has been around for some 20 years by now.

 

Used to subscribe to 'Model Engineer's Workshop', but since the publishers Nexus ran into trouble and it was delivered somewhat haphazardly, I gave up the subscription. I am sorry to say, but this kind of subscription has been superseded largely now by the Internet and the fora.

Edited January 28, 2020 by wefalck

[mtaylor]

Here's the two I recommend for starters.... and they have sections of mills also.  I also believe you can't have too many reference works.

 

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Default.htm

 

https://littlemachineshop.com/info/menu_page.php?parent=itm11

[Bob Cleek]

I'll give up my 12" Atlas lathe when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. How do you find the your mini-lathe measures up to the old Atlases you had, aside from the obvious size capacity difference? Is there anything you find the mini-lathe does better than the Atlas? Just wondering.

[thibaultron]

I have not had a chance to use it yet, unfortunatly. Been busy renovating the shop, with what little spare time I have.

[Bob Cleek]

On 1/16/2020 at 4:48 PM, thibaultron said:

I am not a professional machinist, nor would I claim to be a highly skilled one, just a hobbyist. I have, however, rebuilt two 12 inch Atlas lathes, and spent a fair share of time using them. I recently had to sell my last Atlas, and as part of the deal, picked up the new owners old Harbor Freight 7X10  mini-lathe.

I was asking thibaultron, who mentioned he'd replaced his Atlas (Craftsman) with a mini-lathe.

[thibaultron]

I'm the one who responded. The mini lathe has been buried behind stuff, as I have been renovating the shop. In the near future however, a change from being a 7X10 (actually 7X8 (Harbor Freight lies)) to a true 7X16, is in the offing. I bought an extended bed kit from the Little Machine Shop, and now that the lathe has been moved to where I can get to it, I will be changing it over in the next couple months. For now I have been concentrating time and funds to my HO train stuff. (I managed to burnout part of my digital control system, and had to buy new parts), and invested in two Santa Fe prototype brass steam locos.